On France’s northern coast, almost 3,000 refugees, migrants, and people seeking asylum are surviving in makeshift camps. Many have fled war and lost their papers along the way. 

The "one in, one out" agreement signed by France and the United Kingdom has been in place since July 2025. Under the deal, people who cross the Channel in makeshift boats can be sent back to France in exchange for a legal pathway promised by London. But the legislation’s restrictive criteria leave this option out of reach for almost all of these people. 

Their testimonies, gathered in Calais during March 2026, expose the absurdity of the migration policies at the French-British border.